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A Life in the Day

Alice Cooper. The grandaddy of shock rock, 74.

Cooper was born Vincent Damon Furnier in Detroit. He formed his first band, the Earwigs, aged 17 before renaming the band Alice Cooper and being signed by Frank Zappa in 1969. After some success, including the UK No 1 single School's Out, the band split in 1975. Furnier legally changed his name to Alice Cooper and went on to sell more than 50 million albums. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with his wife of 45 years, Sheryl.

I'm up before the sun; 5am is my time. Straight out of bed, make a cup of coffee, grab my Bible, then spend the next hour reading and praying. I read a couple of chapters a day — this is my 12th reading. It puts me in a positive frame of mind.

Next job is making breakfast, which is my main meal of the day. Back in school I was a middle-distance runner and we never used to eat straight before a race. I've kept the same philosophy. Stock up on calories early, then you've got the entire day to burn them off. I'm a full English kind of guy: bacon, eggs, sausages, the whole kaboodle.

I play golf six days a week, but I could easily play every day of the year if I wanted. Eighteen holes is a lot of miles to cover and it's the main reason I'm still in pretty good shape at 74. That and finally quitting alcohol.

Thanks to Sheryl — she committed me to an asylum for treatment — this is my 39th year sober. I was never a mean drunk. I was the Dean Martin of rock'n'roll, always on this happy, golden buzz. At first it was fun, hanging out with Jim Morrison, Keith Moon and Jimi Hendrix. Jimi gave me my first joint. We thought we were gonna live for ever, but then everybody started dying. I spent a lot of time with Jim Morrison and I don't think I ever saw him not drunk or high. On stage he was an absolute professional, but nobody was surprised when he died.

My mom is 97 and comes to stay a lot. Doesn't matter that I'm 74; she still treats me like that snotty-nosed kid who needed his diaper changing.

"Why don't you take the garbage out? Why don't you get that door fixed? You need new curtains."

Everybody expects Alice Cooper's house to be like Dracula's castle meets the Chamber of Horrors, but it isn't.

The only room you might want to avoid is the studio. That's where I store all the trinkets: full-sized clown dummies, creepy old dolls, a few axes. The rest of the house is spotless, but Sheryl will not clean in there. She says she can hear stuff... voices and screams. I enjoy recording in there, but I wouldn't want to spend a night in the studio on my own.

Lunch is pretty light, maybe a salad. Although if we've got the family coming round, I'll be out in the back garden cooking up steaks. We've got three children — two daughters, Calico and Sonora, and our son, Dash — but they're all grown up now, and we've got four grandkids.

Being a dad changed everything for me. It gave me a reason to stay sober. On stage I was Alice but, after the show, I wanted to be Dad. That life was better than a life in the bottle.

Sheryl is also part of my touring show — she plays various characters like the Dead Bride and Madame Guillotine &mdah; so we're hardly ever apart.

I love how calm she is amid all the mayhem on stage. People are getting beheaded and everyone is splattered with blood, but I sometimes look at her face and I know she's wondering if she left the iron on in the dressing room.

A lot of our evenings are spent working with a charity called Solid Rock. We've set up places where any teenager can come in and learn any instrument for free. Music changed my life; hopefully, we can change a few more.

If we're at home we'll watch a horror movie, but I'm rarely in bed later than 11. Then I pray for a while. I believe in heaven and hell. People think of the Devil with horns and a pointy tail. Man, you are so far off the mark! The Devil is going to be the best-looking, smoothest-talking guy in the room. He's going to make you feel like a million bucks. But you better watch out because he's got a whole different set of plans for you.

Words of Wisdom

Best advice I was given

When I started my first band my mom said, "If you're gonna do this, don't ever give up".

Advice I'd give

If you want to make it in rock'n'roll, sort out your priorities.

What I wish I'd known

That most successful rock bands would stop drinking and taking drugs in the future. In 1972, when I had my first hit, School's Out, things were very different.

Interview by Danny Scott. Alice Cooper and the Cult co-headline a UK arena tour from May 23.

(Originally published in The Sunday Times Magazine, April 17, 2022)